Seaside Heights Mayor Ken Hershey is seen with Vincent Craparotta III at Hemingway’s on Thanksgiving Eve.

Seaside Heights Borough Clerk Diane Stabley, Councilman Bill Akers, Borough Administrator John Camera, and Public Works Director Lou DiGuilio are seen at Hemingway’s on Thanksgiving Eve.

YEAR OF THE WOMAN Seaside Heights Councilwomen Joyce Camera, Arline Ottoson, Agnes Polhemus and Joann Duszczak were all at Hemingway’s on Thanksgiving Eve.

Hemingway’s place-to-be on Thanksgiving Eve: The old adage, “If you build it, they will come.” has proven true with Hemingway’s, Blaine Avenue and the Boulevard in Seaside Heights, which opened in May 2007. Thanksgiving Eve, Wednesday November 21st saw Hemingway’s biggest night ever, and one of the biggest nights many have ever seen anywhere in Ocean County. Charging a five dollar cover, Hemingway’s had a line around the corner and around the block for hours just to get inside. Thanksgiving Eve night has proven itself to be one of, if not the busiest “party” nights of the year with many college students and other people around for the holiday. Word that Hemingway’s was the place to be this night filtered throughout Ocean County in a big way, evident by the record number of people. Since its opening last summer, Hemingways has gained a good reputation for its must-see, over the top design that took over two years to complete. This is the first time guests would get to see a glimpse of Hemingway’s Christmas decorations, which are stunning mix of red and white lights, green pine garland, and large decorative ornanments. So big was this event that it was attended by Seaside Heights Mayor Ken Hershey, as well as 5 Councilpersons, the Borough Administrator, Borough Clerk, Chief of Police, Director of Public Works and Director of Public Relations to name just a few. Hemingway’s manager Vincent Craparotta III greeted the Mayor’s party, which arrived just as the big crowds were also beginning to arrive. By the time the Mayor’s party would leave, Hemingway’s was packed, but with its vast size it still wasn’t even filled to capacity. Even though many had to wait outside a while before they could get into Hemingway’s, mild temperatures and decent weather held during this time. The large crowds, which filled parking spaces for a many block radius around Hemingway’s and other establishments, also got to enjoy the first night of the Seaside Heights Boulevard Electric Snowflake display, which launched as planned on Thanksgiving Eve.

Pete and Maria Meredith, your talky blog production team, were at Hemingway’s on Thanksgiving Eve.

Mrs. Miriam Schneider is seen reading the Thanksgiving story Stone Soup to Hugh J. Boyd preschoolers.

Mrs. Kathy Ruprect and Mrs. Helen Byrnes are seen, ready to serve the special meal, which was made by ingredients provided by the class, just like the first Thanksgiving.

Hugh J. School Elementary School teachers Kathy Ruprecht and Miriam Schneider helped their preschool students learn about Thanksgiving traditions in a very imaginative way this year. Over the past few weeks, the students have slowly learned about Thanksgiving customs and history. In homage to the first Thanksgiving, each brought to school an ingredient for a special meal they would all share. This meal was cooked by the teachers, and Paraprofessional Helen Byrnes on the day before Thanksgiving break. The meal was the simple, yet tried and true Chicken Pot Pie recipe from the back of the Bisquick box. While Mrs. Schneider read the Thanksgiving story Stone Soup to the students, Mrs. Ruprecht and Mrs. Byrnes made final preparations to serve the meal to students and parents that had come along that day.

If you’ve driven down the Boulevard in Seaside Heights during the last week, you probably noticed the 40, 4-foot twinkling snowflakes that stretch from the length of the Borough, from Porter to Hiering Avenues. Our loyal readers know that these snowflakes did not just appear here, but are part of a long, planned-out process involving many, now in its second growing season. The final process before showtime on Thanksgiving Eve is electrification, an all day job in itself. Credit for this part of the job goes to Borough electricians Bob Baran and Michael Rumbolo, who had to move things around in their hectic schedules to ensure the planned Wednesday-before-Thanksgiving launch of the display happened. Earlier this year, Bob and Michael were involved in the project of providing an electric service suitable for the snowflakes on the poles between Kearney and Hiering Avenues, where they had not existed before. This was a big job, and an integral part of the expansion of the snowflakes to the north-end of town.